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Published August 20, 2008
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Meet the Candidates, Orinda
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| By Lee Borrowman |
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There are three candidates vying for two seats on the Orinda City Council this fall. Two are incumbents, Victoria Smith and Steve Glazer, and one a challenger, Robert Larsen. We were not able to speak directly with Larsen since he was not available in the days before we went to press, but we hope to catch up with him soon. Perhaps not surprisingly, a familiar theme has already emerged in this campaign – all three candidates expressed deep concern about the condition of Orinda’s roads and vowed to work toward obtaining sufficient funds to fix said roads, dubiously distinguished as the worst in the Bay Area.
Victoria Smith:
Currently serving as Mayor, Victoria Smith was elected to the Orinda City Council in 2004. An attorney specializing in real estate law, Smith and her husband moved to his home town of Orinda twenty years ago, and raised their two sons here. She reports that, “being on the City Council doesn’t leave a lot of time for hobbies, but when I get the chance I do like to hike, read, play tennis and travel.” Smith also confesses a passion for Cal Football, “Go Bears!” Smith says that with the strong support of the Council and the community she has accomplished much during her term on the Council, including the successful completion of the Moraga Way repair project which “completely rebuilt that important arterial, including the use of federal funds that we worked hard to secure.” She also points to ”the creation of a Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, at my request, which has improved traffic safety in Orinda by creating a blueprint to resolve traffic ‘hot spot’ areas; collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce to promote ‘Shop Orinda’ to improve sales tax revenue; developing an improved emergency disaster preparedness plan with Lafayette and Moraga; ‘hiring’ canine officer ‘Chef’ to assist in locating missing children and fragile seniors and bringing donated art to public places.” Smith says she is not done yet. “The main problem in Orinda, which we still need to resolve, is finding a long-term solution to fix Orinda’s roads. The condition of our roads is not only a daily inconvenience to us, and an added cost of repair to our cars, but a safety issue, as the roads are used by fire fighters, paramedics and school buses. Over the last several years, the City has really focused on determining the extent of the road problem and the total cost to repair the roads, and developing a comprehensive program to prioritize road repairs so that the roads which are most heavily traveled by most people are fixed first. We know that we have a $100 million problem and we must secure financing in order to implement a comprehensive multi-year plan to rebuild Orinda’s roads.” In light of the recent conflict of interest discussion, we asked Smith about her own situation; she replied, “In my four years on the Council I have voted on thousands of decisions and have only had to recuse myself once; I don’t see this as an issue.” In addition to a desire to find a solution for Orinda’s 95 miles of public roads, Smith says she is seeking re-election because, “I also want to work to revitalize our downtown areas, to attract restaurants, shops, and businesses that our community wants. At my request, the Council included within this year’s budget the funds to initiate a sales tax leakage study, which I believe will be the first step in helping to determine additional goods and services that could be provided in Orinda. I have a committee working right now to select the best developer to build compassionate high quality senior affordable housing at the old library site. I want to move forward to improve the walkways and bikeways throughout Orinda, including Safe Routes to schools. I love this community and I will do my best to maintain and enhance the quality of life in Orinda.”
Steve Glazer
Steve Glazer was elected to the Orinda City Council in the hotly contested election of 2004. Glazer’s firm provides strategic and communications consulting work for environmental and conservation organizations, companies and governments. Glazer has lived in Orinda for eleven years. He has been married for twenty one years and has two children. In addition to public service, Glazer says he enjoys tennis, golf, wine tasting, volunteering and getting together with friends and family. Glazer is ready for another contested election. “I look forward to discussing the important issues with Orinda voters, including what we can do to better improve our roads. Elections are a positive development as long as the debate is on the issues rather than personal attacks,” he continued, “I want to keep things positive.” Glazer believes that he has had some notable achievements during his Council term: “I worked to create a greater focus and funding for road repairs, improvements in the planning and design review process, increased transparency in government decision-making, better relations with the school district and enhanced attention to public safety and emergency preparedness. I was successful in leading the effort to remodel our local Safeway, expand funding for our library and increase citizen participation in fiscal and infrastructure oversight and accountability.” Glazer’s unfinished business will be his main focus for the next four years. “(My) key priority for a second term on the Council will be to continue our efforts to raise additional dollars for road repairs,” he said, “We have greatly expanded funding for road repairs by cutting and reprioritizing our budget. We have used those dollars on the roads most traveled, such as Moraga Way, Glorietta, Camino Pablo and Lombardy but we are woefully short of what we need to fix our residential streets.” What about the conflict of interest issue? Glazer is very clear on this, stating, “The law is simple. If I have a professional or personal conflict of interest or if any proposed City activity is within 300 feet of my home then I cannot participate…Rather than detracting from my ability to serve, our Council’s strict adherence to the law enhances the credibility of our council decisions because residents can have the confidence that decisions are being made for the correct reasons.” When asked if there are other issues he foresees coming before the Council in the next four years from which he might have to recuse himself, he answered firmly, “No.” Glazer says he is seeking re-election because he feels honored to serve what he calls “our quaint little town” and her residents, and so that he can continue to work on important issues such as the roads. “It is truly embarrassing that Orinda?s roads rank as the worst in the 100 cities in the Bay Area….we pay the price for this situation every day with high auto repair bills; safety problems for walkers, cyclists and drivers; and reduced home values. The longer we wait the higher the cost of the eventual repair. My goal in the coming years is to work with residents and the Council to craft a fair and successful road improvement measure.”
Robert Larsen
The sole non-incumbent running for Orinda City Council this year, thus earning the title The Challenger, has dubbed his campaign “Dr. Bob – The Alternative.” Robert Larsen received his MD from Northwestern Medical School, and a Masters of Public Heath in Administrative Services from UC Berkeley. He is the founder and director of the Center for Occupational Psychiatry in San Francisco, and a member of the volunteer faculty at UCSF Medical Center. He is married to local landscape designer Kim Larsen and came to Orinda eighteen years ago because he believed it would be a great place to raise his two children. Larsen was also pleased to note, “Since 1990 I have proudly marched with the All Orinda Pickup Marching Band, occasionally hitting the right note on French Horn!” Why did Larsen decide to run for City Council? Evidently in part because nobody else stepped forward to challenge the incumbents; according to his statement, “There are major issues facing our city such as roads, utilities, business and development. Change happens. So why is no one besides a physician running against otherwise unopposed incumbents? Because we are satisfied, we are too busy, we don’t care?” Larsen continues, “We all have very busy lives. I strongly believe, however, that complacency is not an option. I threw my name into the hat with two thoughts in mind: The people of Orinda deserved a choice, and I have a great deal of experience to contribute should I win.” In an earlier statement, Larsen said, “If elected I will serve one term. I will not run for re-election.” Like the incumbents, Larsen is concerned about the state of Orinda’s roads. His statement reads, “Everyone believes that our roads are one of our biggest problems in this town. To fix the roads we need money…We should look to any available funds from the State and Federal governments. EBMUD and the Fire Department should pay their share. Is there a way for heavy trucks that travel our roads to pay a surcharge through the local businesses they serve? I am in support of bringing in new businesses to Orinda so we can increase our (sales tax) revenue…a ‘Shop Orinda’ bag is not going to do it. Only after we exhaust every other source of money should we go to the citizens of Orinda. And when we do, we should not place the lion share of the burden on a few. Finally, when we have a realistic plan, there needs to be an effort on the part of the City to explain why and how the sacrifice of Orindans is necessary; the next road Measure must succeed.” Larsen’s statement concludes, “The Council needs to do more than just listen to citizen and merchant complaints. The Council has an obligation to act on those complaints…The people of this town must also take responsibility and participate if Orinda is to deal with its very real problems and have a chance to flourish as a community. Now that would be a change about which we could all be proud!” |
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| Reach Lee Borrowman at: lee@lamorindaweekly.com |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA